what do livestock eat?

Question

“It is also misleading to think that the foods grown and given to feed livestock could be diverted to feed humans. The fact is that over two-thirds of the feed fed to animals consists of substances that are either undesirable or completely unsuited for human food.” (Byrnes).


does anyone know what livestock actually eat?

what are they fed that humans cannot/do not eat?

Answer 1

Livestock get dead pets from the vet's office, including body bags, cancer lesions, and flea collars. Livestock also get grains and soy and ground up animal parts. Pigs and cows eat chicken manure mixed with sawdust. Cows are also sometimes fed shredded newspaper. Mad cow disease proliferates because cows are fed the ground up brains and spinal glop from other cows. If cows eat grass, only one in a million gets mad cow naturally. It's less likely to be passed onto humans if the cow is slaughtered in a clean manner. As it is, the cow's brains are blown up with an air shot to the head letting the blood pump brain tissue into the meat.
It has been calculated that the planets growing power if used for human food, can support 10 billion vegans. It has also been calculated that 16 vegans can eat for the "price" of one meat eater's land use. Hope that helps!

Answer 2

What livestock are supposed to eat and what they are actually fed are two different issues.
I think they are supposed to eat grain - like corn, hay, oats and the like.
Many times, they are not given that. I read in Fast Food Nation that many of the farms (that supply meat to the fast food industry) feed their animals whatever is cheap. This includes the remains of other dead animals* (ground up into a mushy mess), low-grade grain that was not fit for human consumption and even in one case, a farmer was feeding his cows old chocolate candy. It was leftover from one of the holidays and didn't sell, so he bought it from a store and fed it to his livestock. Poor animals!

*this practice is not that common anymore in the u.s. it has been known to spread mad cow's disease...when the healthy cows eat the remains of the sick cows, that's when they get sick. it still happens. just not as often.

Answer 3

Cattle are meant to eat a natural diet of grass. In factory farming, they are fed all sorts of unwholesome things. They are fed wheat, corn and soy, and ground up parts of other dead animals. That goes into the meat, posing a problem for anyone thats allergic to those things. The same way a human will be unhealthy if they eat an unnatural diet, most factory farmed animals are unhealthy and diseased, They are given growth hormones, steroids, and antibiotics to offset the ill effect from their unhealthy diet. It takes 16 pounds of food to produce 1 pound of meat. If the meat industry didnt exist, there would be enough grain crops to end world hunger.

Answer 4

In the United States Factory Farms: Garbage unfit for human consumption: moldy grains, ground-up other cows. Ground-up chicken feathers and bones. Rancid grease. Hormone and antibiotic protein powders. Horses boiled into glue. CHEAP crap which is not food.

Answer 5

hay and corn lots of each an water that is what i have always given mine also there are some countrys that pump them with steriods to make them fill up faster some have contracts with bread companys to feed them or left over doughnuts an stuff to them but thoes are mostly private people not main companys that get regulated

Answer 6

Corn

Answer 7

Fowls and ducks eat scratch grain or food from your table. Cows (eat mash), sheep, goats and horses eats grass. Pigs are usually fed peelings from ground provisions, stale bread along with feed made specially or them. That is what we feed them in my country.

Answer 8

sadly I have read several places about farmers feeding chicken feces (poop) to cows, since it is so much cheaper than feed. (see the link below), also, mad cow disease was from cows being feed sick cows, the waste from slaughter goes right back into the feed...... I am not sure how you can be sure about where you buy meat from, personally I buy from a butcher in my town, the cows are from local farms.

Answer 9

I don't know what other countries feed their cows but I feed mine grass, hay, cattle lick, weat and corn defiantly not any meat

Answer 10

Grain corn hay and grass